The Bon Marche.  The Bon is an example of corporate media.  Why?  Try this one on for size.  Worried about holiday sales (in lieu of the billions lost in 1999's protests) Mayor Paul Schell denies WTO protesters the right to assemble, under permit, in the thoroughfares surrounding Westlake Center during the N30 anniversary.  This should come as no surprise to protesters that endured the unconsitutional No-Protest Zone imposed by Mayor Schell during the WTO Ministerial meeting in Seattle last year.  The No-Protest Zone allowed shoppers to buy christmas goodies at The Bon but banned American Citizens from opening their mouths with the Bill-of-Rights-given FREE SPEECH. 

Empathizing with shoppers, The Seattle PI, the Seattle Times, KIRO 7, KOMO TV, KING 5 and Q13 News portrayed WTO objectors as violent anarchists,  protesting aimlessly and without a definable cause, as having only one desire: to wreak havoc and vandalism on Seattle's downtown shoppers' playground.  Furrowed-browed reporters looked glimly on the prospects of shopping downtown as the dread-locked masses provoked the peaceful, riot-geared police and posed a threat to any benign holiday Harry.

Ever peruse the Times?  Remember hunting through the 'Around the Globe', Nation or World sections only to find 50% sales at the Bon?  These gargantuan ads monopolize precious news space and betray the trust of the reader.  But they are more insidious than our 'annoyance factor' evaluation; THEY ARE BUYING OFF YOUR NEWS!  The Bon, whether you realize it or not, determines how the truth is told about WTO protests. 

How about NBC refusing to air a show detailing the largest national boycott (at the time of the show date) on GE products (due to GE's production and promotion of nuclear weapons) because GE owns the NBC network?  Well, maybe that makes business sense to you.  How about journalists wanting to expose on Fox TV News the dangerous side effects of genetically modified milk originating in Monsanto's laboratories only later to be fired from Fox News thanks to the not-so-subtle warnings from the VP's at Monsanto?  Listening yet?


Educate Yourself!

                 ~ Monsanto Threatens Fox TV

                 ~ NBC Doesn't Air GE Boycott

                ~ Nine Firms Dominate Global Media

               ~ Washington Post Lies on Mumia Case

                ~ Skittles Sales Up 10% From TV Ads in Class

                ~ Auto Industry Fires Journalist For Printing Hazards

                ~ Truthful News, The Microsoft Way



More Education!

             ~ Media Giants Buy Off Politicians
                       
                           (For Later Reimbursement During Campaign Season -  Big $$$)

              ~ Free Air-Time For Politicians!
                       
                           (Oops!  Wrong on that one.  Too much of a loss for Media. And
                                    poor civil rights leaders would have equal platform. No Good).



Empower Yourself!

       Empowerment through knowledge!
        
                      ~ Columbia Journalism Review

                      ~ Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting

        
         Empowerment Through Action!

                     ~  Independent Media Center
                     
                                            - Screen IMC's video, "This Is What Democracy Looks Like" for friends.
                                                           - Support non-corporate media by 'spreading the word' about IMC.



                                                                                                    Home of the Barefoot
      
Corporate Media